Oct. 25, 2009
DENVER, Colo.–The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team topped defending MPSF Champion Denver 2-1 on the road this afternoon. Michael Reed and P.J. Wilson provided the firepower for the Lobo victory. The Lobos dealt with arduous weather conditions and a slick field, battling through temperatures in the mid-30’s and intermittent snow flurries in Denver. Reed scored the first goal of his Lobo career just under 15 minutes into the game to put New Mexico on the board first. Wilson broke a 1-1 tie with 2:30 left in the first period, giving the Lobos a slight halftime cushion. Wilson’s strike stood up for the remainder of play.
“We came out and created a lot of opportunities,” said Lobo head coach Jeremy Fishbein. “Mike Reed scored a big time goal, then we gave them a real soft goal that hurt, but the guys rebounded well. P.J. Wilson had a great goal to close out the first half, and we were good in the second half. We held the lead pretty comfortably, so it was a good win for us.”
Reed got the ball on the right side, beat a defender off the dribble inside, and went top-shelf with a left-footed strike from 25 yards out at 14:56. Jason Stigall equalized ten minutes later for the Pioneers, netting a free kick from 28 yards out. Wilson took the ball on the left side of the box in the 42nd minute and dribbled past the Denver defense for a goal that put the Lobos up 2-1. His strike proved to be the game-winner, as neither team was able to find the back of the net in the second half. The goal was Wilson’s second of the season and the 11th of his career.
New Mexico improves to 9-5-0 overall, 3-1 in MPSF play, while the Pioneers drop to 3-8-3 and 0-3-1 in league play. The Lobos close out their four-game road swing with a trip to California next week for games against Sacramento State and San Jose State. Their final home game will be played against UNLV at 7 p.m. on Saturday, November 7. Please visit GoLobos.com for more information.